Search warrant in Gizmodo iPhone case released to the public

Clifford Cretan, the judge who signed the search warrant in the Gizmodo iPhone case, issued a ruling on Friday that unsealed the contents of the highly controversial Jason Chen search warrant. Most of the details have already been discussed ad nauseum, but a few juciy tidbits have emerged:

Apple, the company, not an individual employee nor any other entity, reported the missing phone.

the case was filed, in part, as a trade secrets violation which partially explains why the search was handled by the REACT (Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team) crimes unit.

Steve Jobs personally called Brian Lam to request the phone’s return. Lam agreed but with the condition that Apple provide a letter confirming the phone belonged to the Cupertino company.

Brian Hogan, who reportedly found the iPhone at the bar and sold it to Gizmodo, is identified as a suspect.

Jason Chen is being investigated for possible receipt of stolen property, theft and copying of a trade secret, and destruction of property worth more than $400.

Hogan was turned in by his roommate, Katherine Martinson, who was afraid of being caught up in this legal mess after Hogan plugged the iPhone prototype into her computer.

Prior to being searched by the police, Hogan and another roommate, Thomas Warner, hid Hogan’s computer, thumb drive, flash card, and the serial number stickers from the iPhone prototype. These items were found inside a local church, scattered amongst some bushes, and on the ground outside of a convenience store.

Hogan reportedly claims that Gizmodo paid him $8500 for the phone with a bonus once it was officially unveiled as the new iPhone. Hogan is said to have shown off a box of money totaling $5000 to his roommate.

No charges have been filed yet but they are expected in the near future. Presumably, Hogan is a focus but there is no word on whether Gizmodo or Chen will be included.

So there it is, folks, our taste of hollywood-style high tech gossip. Hope it keeps you entertained and informed as this lurid interesting story continues to unfold.

Ok, he should not have plugged it into her computer, I see why she told now

Nunya Bizness

A friend who betrays you is a coward and has no charater.
She’s a piece of shit in my opinion.

Furthermore, no one would have ever came looking at her computer if she never alerted Apple.
When she saw that $5,000 in cash, she went looking for her own payday.
Whether she ever got it or not, we’ll never know.
That’s the truth.

DO NOT SUPPORT APPLE OR STEVE JOBS.

The Late Ted Kennedy

YOU SAY NOT TO SUPPORT APPLE OR STEVE JOBS. YOU SOUND AND I BET YOU ARE ONE POOR BROKE BASTARD THAT CANT AFFORD THE APPLE PRODUCTS. SO GET A JOB AND WORK HARD AND YOU SEE YOU WONT THINK OR SAY THINGS LIKE THAT. OR BETTER YET ASK YOUR PRESIDENT OBAMA TO BUY YOU AN APPLE COMPUTER/

Jerry

hmmm…with all the recent leaks coming from Vietnam, I wonder if Steve Jobs has made any phone calls to Vietnam or if the Vietnamese police / military is involved???

dean

how about this: steve jobs agrees everyone got carried away here, takes better control of highly secrete products (ie handcuff to wrist), and instead of persuing this, he take $100G’s of legal money and donates it to needy children instead… lets all move on and stop wasting the court’s time.

bobudo

WHAT!? A reasonable person on the internet? Sir, I’m afraid you’ve taken a wrong turn, please make a u-turn, and head back to the real world… I just can’t stand to see another one of you decent folk turn into a rabid fanboy.

Derrick

Katherine, you little snitch bitch you. What a wuss. Let that be a lesson to criminals everywhere, trust no one. lol

What’s sad is how serious this leak was. One thing we know for sure is this must be the next gen iPhone otherwise these guys might not be taking this so seriously. Secondly, I guess we should expect this from a company that had their first iPhone guarded with security.

Derrick

I agree Dean, stop wasting our tax dollars on this nonsense. Showing the next generation iPhone isn’t going to hurt Apple. It’s clear they’re no longer doing anything “revolutionary”. It’s not like the phone was totally redesigned and it’s not like we didn’t already know what was in the new iPhone OS 4.0 firmware.

Katherine is a snitch bitch because it wasn’t like this guy murdered someone, it was a fuckin’ phone for crying out loud. She could have played dumb if they did come knocking on her door. “I didn’t know he used my computer”.